Built a two story house in Mexico 28 years ago, the plumber at that time used PVC piping INSIDE the house for water --bathrooms, commode,, waste water went down house to connect with a 6'' CONCRETE PIPE out to the street to connect to city,,
House has 5 1/2 baths, two -4 sink kitchens----LOTs of STUFF in the old drain pipes,, would like any suggestions on cleaning the STUFF growing on top of pipes inside and of course the sides pipes. Have used a water hose for pressure iserted in downstairs shower drains,, but does not help the "back-up smells" when in use?

Any suggestions other than ACID,, afraid it will "do in" the old pipes, we do use drain cleaners from time to time but it does not touch most of the STUFF on top of pipe,,
Thanks

Sounds like sludge build up in side the pipes. Snake the lines with sewer (not drain ) snake. Also run camera down the lines. You possibly would have cracks in the line and tree roots blocking the drain.

Are the concrete pipes designed for sewer use ? Do they have proper slope ? Did you do Video Inspection of the interior of the pipe ?

Sewer pipe should be buried. If the pipe is buried, why would you want to clean "outside" of the pipe ?

As far as smell goes: Make sure you have traps in all showers, sinks and tubs, as well as floor drains. Take flash light, shine it into the drain and you should see standing water inside. I assume toilets have traps installed within the toilet itself.

To clean the pipe on the inside: I suggest you pressure wash it with Hydro-Jetting machine. Hydro-Jet is not a hose attachment, but a high powered compressor that develops up to 10,000 pounds of pressure. It shoots water through special nozzle as it is being pulled through the sewer pipe, cutting through all sediment in its way. When finished, you flush the pipe with lots of water.



Hope that helps

Milo